1. Technical Field
The invention relates to the setting of Web browser operating parameters. More particularly, the invention relates to intelligently adjusting a Web browser's Web cache allocation to fit the browser's operating environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Web browsers have become a standard application for the majority of personal computers in the world today. The original concept for the Web browsers was that the typical user needed to have a browsing experience that was as trouble free as possible. The typical user does not want and does not need to know anything more about the browser's operations than entering Universal Resource Locators (URL) into the browser's location or address fields.
However, the reality of the personal computer world is that the majority of application programs require that the user or the installer have knowledge of the specific system that the programs are installed on. For example, the Apple Computer Incorporated Mac systems using Mac OS 9 require that the user or installer properly set the memory requirements for application programs depending on their expected use and available memory.
A Web browser requires the use of the host computer's hard drive for temporary caching of content (Web cache). The browser uses the Web cache area reserved on the computer's hard drive to store Web page content (e.g., HTML pages, JPEG and GIF images, etc.).
Web page content is stored in the Web cache area for quick access to recently visited Web pages. This speeds up the user's Web experience by skipping the step of waiting for a remote server to produce content that the browser already has stored in its Web cache. The user has a better Web experience because of the Web cache.
However, Web browsers require that the size of the Web cache be specified manually. The Web browser manufacturers set the Web cache size at the time of release to a value that they believe will suffice for the majority of users.
Referring to FIG. 1, Microsoft Corporation's Internet Explorer has a preference window 101 where the Web cache value is set to a default value of 10 MB 102. The preference window 101 allows the user to modify the Web cache value 102 as he sees fit. The typical user has no idea what the Web cache does for him, nor does he know how changing the Web cache value 102 will affect him.
With respect to FIG. 2, Netscape Communication Corporation's, Netscape Navigator provides a similar preference window 201. The browser's Web cache size is set to 7.6 MB as a default value 202 and is also modifiable by the user.
It would be advantageous to provide an automatic browser Web cache resizing system that dynamically sets the Web cache value for a browser. It would further be advantageous to provide an automatic browser Web cache resizing system that automatically adapts the Web cache size to the host computer's memory constraints.